Internet slows down due to fault in submarine cable

ISLAMABAD: The internet services got slowed down in Pakistan owing to fault in international submarine cable in Arabian Sea.

“The international submarine cable SEA-ME-WE 4 has experienced a fault in Arabian Sea, impacting internet services in the region including Pakistan,” conceded Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) in a statement issued here on Thursday night.

The restoration work has been initiated by the international consortium that manages the submarine cable systems. PTCL has already undertaken necessary measures to provide internet connectivity to its customers across Pakistan. However, due to the fault in this undersea cable, the internet users may experience slow browsing during this period.

The company regrets any inconvenience caused to its valuable customers during this restoration period. However, according to the sources, the fault occurred near Karachi in the sea. The PTCL has identified ratification efforts.

Sources said that complete restoration of SEA-ME-WE 4 could take some time, and until then the bandwidth reliance on back-up submarine cables would be enhanced. During this time, internet users may face degraded download/upload speeds.